Simona Alina
Filed in: Seat | 2008 | Geneva Motor Show | Seat Ibiza
Seat will unveil a new version of the Ibiza lower-medium car at the Geneva auto show next March. It will be offered in both three and and five-door hatchback.
The sporty three-door variant will arrive by the end of next year and will look “almost like a coupe”.
Also the company will replace the Toledo lower-medium sedan with two models: a sporty sedan and a station wagon in 2009. “Seat has never had a station wagon of this size, thus for us this is truly an additional model.”
A model inspired by the Tribu concept car will be revealed in early 2009.
Source:Automotive News
Source: New Seat Ibiza to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show















Or it could be a heady combination of desperation and lust. Now that common wisdom holds that the Russian carmarket is The Next Big Thing, all the major playas are scrambling for a piece of the action. As we reported, GM was looking to buy into the Russian automaker AvtoVaz. As we didn't report (until now), The General got pipped at the post by the French. Blogging Stocks considers GM's failure to hook-up with AvtoVaz a major bummer and reveals that Renault stumped-up $1.6b for the honor of owning 25% of the Russian automaker. Undaunted (or perhaps foolhardy), GM now wants to fill-up with Gaz. msnbc reports that The General has already signed a letter of intent to develop an "affordable car" (as opposed to?). Despite the lack of said vehicle, GM wants to deepen its ties with billionaire Oleg Deripaska's company and expand their theoretical mutual efforts. Yes, well, meanwhile, the Gaz Volga already uses a Chrysler engine and underpinnings (ye olde Dodge Stratus), and Auburn Hills wants in as well. "Leonid Dolgov, chief executive of Gaz's car division, told the Financial Times it was 'no secret' his company was involved in talks with Chrysler." Well if it was before, it ain't now. [thanks to starlightmica for the links]

This well-padded Mustang is believed to be a prototype for facelift model which will make its market launch in 2009. There’s not much info going around about the upcoming changes in terms of chassis and powertrain updates, but from what we’ve heard, the face lifted Mustang will definitely feature an all-new front end and rear styling details while the interior is also expected to be revised.



The Financial Times reports that Toyota sliced production of its full-sized pickup by 29 percent last month, trimming November's output to 18,300 vehicles. Quite how that recently revealed factoid reconciles with last week's statement by ToMoCo's U.S. group vice president and general manager that the automaker had a good shot at meeting its 200k per year Tundra sales target is anyone's guess. I'm thinking Bob Carter's boast was a triumph of hype-fueled expectation over hard reality. And the hard reality is that the U.S. pickup truck market has tanked. Automotive News (AN, sub) reports that flatbed sales fell fat by 10.4 percent last month. To try to maintain the big Mo on the Texas-built Tundra, Toyota is hawking zero-percent financing or $2k cash rebates on the '08 model. In any case, as a non-union operator, winding down production doesn't put a major ding in Toyota's operating expenses. And there's LOADS of profit in the vehicles they do sell.
So Ford’s taking Volvo upmarket. Never mind why. How? On the face of it, the Swedish brand is as suited to life at the top as Volkswagen, whose mighty Phaeton died for their premium-priced aspirations. Volvo owns the sensible, safety-oriented, “car for life” mindspace. While it’s become a full-line automaker, Volvo’s station wagons best exemplify the underlying ethos. And here comes the all-new XC70, and extremely pricey people mover. If Volvo can take their station wagon upmarket, well, Ford might be onto something…
If the words “Scandinavian Luxury” have any meaning, it’s found inside the XC70’s cabin. Organic shapes with smooth, flowing lines intersect with seamless precision. Surfaces are swathed in high quality materials, [optionally] accentuated by warm natural wood. In terms of ergonomics, the XC70’s interior design is like an Audi for long-sighted, glove-wearing architects. Or, if you prefer, the XC70 is the anti-iDrive BMW. That said, while Volvo’s now signature floating center console is logical enough for a Vulcan, the cubby behind remains less than useless.
To strengthen the XC70’s case against PC poisonmobiles (i.e. fuel-sucking SUVs) and amp-up the lifestyle marketing angle (wagons ho!), Volvo has raised the station wagon’s ride height to 8.3”, which is HIGHER than a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Volvo makes a point of advertising the XC’s approach, departure and break over angles (19.2, 19.8 and 24, in case you were wondering).
Riding on Volvo’s new large car platform, the XC70’s on-road manners offer effortless highway cruising and stressless pothole surmounting. But when it comes to cornering, the high-riding XC70 floats like a bee and stings like a butterfly. Hustling the wagon is both counter-intuitive and counter-productive– especially if the rear passengers’ digestives systems aren’t fully developed. Sadly, the active suspension system from last year’s XC– which completely quelled the cetaceous behavior typical of crossovers– is a Euro-only option.
Aye, there’s the rub. No car can have it all: safety, passing power, handling, practicality, reliability, luxury, excellent fuel economy and a competitive sticker price. If Ford wants to take Volvo upmarket, the brand must become a master of one core competency, rather a Jakob of all trades.
vehicles including the Buick Enclave, new full-size Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, new Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon full-size SUVs, and the new Cadillac CTS mid-size sedan. And already, there are signs that the just-introduced, new-inside-and-out Chevrolet Malibu compact will be joining this roster of good-news producers.
improved fuel economy across the board, for example; GM is bringing out more hybrids; and there’s the possibility that it may soon announce a decision to produce the Volt, a plug-in hybrid.
Chevrolet’s fortunes have been looking up thanks in part to the strong performance of its new truck products. And LaNeve believes that Malibu gives Chevy the first legitimate shot ever to at least take a bite out of compact-sedan buyers who have fixated on Toyota Camry and Honda Accord for more than a decade. If Chevrolet makes it on a buyer’s initial shopping list, Spinella says, about 40% of consumers now end up buying a Chevy, up from 25% just a couple of years ago.
“All kinds of people are looking at Buick now in a fresh new way because of it, some of them from aspirational brands.”